Chandigarh, Jul 29 (PTI) The Haryana State Task Force, constituted to improve the sex ratio in the state, on Tuesday decided to withdraw all powers under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act from chief medical officers of five districts showing a downward trend in sex ratio.
The decision was taken at the weekly meeting of the state task force (STF) chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Sudhir Rajpal, an official statement said.
The meeting focused on intensifying efforts to curb illegal abortions and further improve the state’s sex ratio under the ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign.
Haryana’s sex ratio has improved to 905 from January 1 to July 28 this year, compared to 899 during the same period last year. Officials attributed the improvement to consistent field operations such as raids and decoy actions, it said.
While 15 districts have shown marked improvement, five — Ambala, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Palwal and Sirsa — have showcased a decline in sex ratio compared to last year.
In a stern move, Rajpal directed that powers under the PNDT Act be withdrawn from chief medical officers (CMOs) of these five districts and handed over to their counterparts of neighbouring districts, who will take immediate charge and begin corrective measures.
He also ordered that the nodal officers for PNDT in these districts be chargesheeted and replaced.
Special state squads, comprising Haryana Civil Services and other senior officers, will monitor enforcement and corrective actions in these areas.
Rajpal said top-performing districts will be incentivised and rewarded. He stressed strict enforcement, including revoking licences of doctors found complicit in illegal abortions and sealing of centres involved in such practices.
He further directed that such hospitals and clinics be delisted from the Ayushman Bharat Scheme and other government empanelments.
Centres conducting illegal abortions under the guise of Dilation and Curettage (DandC) procedures should also be identified and acted against, he added.
The state is implementing reverse tracking of all medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) and abortion cases beyond 12 weeks, particularly where women already have one or more daughters. Ten FIRs were registered last week in such suspected cases.
Rajpal also announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for anyone providing authentic information about doctors or quacks involved in illegal sex determination and abortion practices. PTI SUN OZ OZ
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